Church of the All-Knowing Overseer
Mantra ‘To feel is to know, to know is to change, and to change is the essence of life’ ‘Kindness, respect and compassion are virtues, of which provide profound rewards in life and there after’ Fundamental beliefs Followers of the Church of the All-Knowing Overseer, also known as the Watched, hold the beliefs that there is a necessity to invoke positive emotions through helping others or changing oneself for the better. The Overseer is believed to see everything and feel every expressed emotion, positive or negative, from all living creatures. While positive emotions are generally encouraged, moderation and understanding of emotions is emphasised. Over exposure to any form of emotion can lead to numbness which is to be avoided, as such negative emotions are referred to as a necessity to outline a need for change or to put positive emotions into perspective. Birth of the world ‘In the beginning there only existed darkness, and from the dark rose the Overseer. The Overseer watched the darkness and felt nothing. From themselves they created light and scattered it across the darkness. The Overseer watched the light and felt content. Soon the light gave birth to the world and the Overseer felt joy. As a gift the Overseer gave the world a gift in the form of a soul. Scattering the soul like seeds life took root upon the world.’ General practices Symbolically the Overseer’s gaze is represented by the moon, with most religious ceremonies taking place during the night for the Overseer to see its followers more clearly. Each Lioday followers may attend a casual meeting where sharing news and entertainment such as singing is encouraged, a priest is always present in the meetings for people to confess to or seek advice from. Marriage (Joining) practices If a couple have been courting long enough they may choose to officiate their joining. To officiate a venue is chosen to hold the ceremony, while usually held at a sacred grove it can be held anywhere so long as a priest is present to join the couple. Family and friends are often invited but also not necessary. The joining itself requires the couple to drink consecrated wine provided by the priest, this wine holds special properties, of which makes the soul of the drinker both visible to the naked eye and extremely malleable. Once the wine has taken full effect the priest buds off part of each of the partner’s soul and exchanges it into the other, linking their vessels in life and death. This exchange provides the couple with an inherent ability to sense each other’s general vicinity. While the wine is still in effect the couple are encouraged to dance and friends and family are equally encouraged to sing, the effects of the singing can be visually seen effecting the soul as they dance. Funeral practices Once an Astorian dies their soul is believed to be released from their physical body, this soul would be initially unaware of their passing and requires the aid of the living to give the first push for the soul to rise up to join the Overseer in the dark, where they will relive all their fondest memories for eternity. The stars in the night sky symbolise ascended souls. However, if a soul is burdened by too many negative memories they become too heavy to ascend, and consequently relive their worst memories for all eternity. As a way to reduce the weight of the negative memories, but not completely remove them, a person may forgive, confess or apologise where appropriate. The ascension funeral for the deceased however begins with a mourner preparing the body by dressing it in ceremonial robes then placing the body upon a stone slab, known as a focusing altar. Placing objects of sentimental value to the recently deceased in pouches to hang around their shoulders and tying wreathes of flowers around the body attempt to aid in luring the soul back to the body to listen to the final rites. The final rites consist of the family surrounding the focusing alter while a priest recites a partly personalised eulogy to attempt to remind the soul that they have in fact passed away and ascension awaits them. After the final rites the body is sealed in a stone coffin and buried upright. Atop the stone coffin a marked stone slab is placed, where commonly the deceased name is engraved, some other engagements can also be found such as their age upon death, a quote or an image. The areas where these stone coffins are buried are called gravescapes, and they are an area associated with potential wisdom. The living often as a sign of respect walk on the gravescapes, as well as meditating on specific graves to potentially gain some of their wisdom or guidance. Category:Culture Category:Religion Category:Moon Kingdom